Serious Writer or Tulle-Clad Queen: Cast Your Vote

Help me choose my new author photos! And come to my LAUNCH!

Thanks to all who voted in my poll last week about how often you want to receive my newsletter - the overwhelming majority voted fortnightly, so from NEXT MONTH, you can expect for me to drop into your inbox every two weeks. If you want to hear from me more, you can always subscribe to MEANWHILE IN MOUNT MERRY-GLEN as a paid subscriber. From now on Mount Merry-Glen will only be emailed to paid subscribers so as not to annoy everyone else.

HOWEVER, I have just made the first two episodes free so that if you’re on the fence about joining the party, you can get a taste of what the story is like.

Now for today’s post….

A couple of weeks ago, I got new author photos taken for my upcoming new website and also the shot that will be used for publicity for THE LUCKY SISTERS.

Here’s how the day went:

After a podcast interview with the fabulous Ash London (it’s not out yet, I’ll share when it is) I spent the next hour or so scouring the internet for how to take a good author photo and what makes a good author photo.

Here’s what I learned:

• Apparently people judge authors by the photos just as much as they judge books by covers (EEK!)

• It should show your personality without being gimmicky

• I already knew this but it must be high-res

• You should have close up headshot and all body shots

• Clear, uncluttered backgrounds are apparently better

• It helps to have a few different shots you want to try

• Don’t choose distracting clothing

• You can have several different photos if you write different genres (OOH)

Next, I collated a few author pics I really liked (and also some of my past faves) to show my photographer and THEN I headed to my bedroom to work out what the hell to wear. Some may think I should have worked this out the day of the shot (some may be right) but I’m just not the kinda person. Hence the reason my wardrobe looks like it had exploded onto my bed below.

Last week I had my hair re-coloured (not pink this time) and so not to stretch the budget, I washed and blow-dried my hair last night and will try fluff it up just before I leave for the shoot but first… off to get my make-up done! I am shocking at doing my own make-up and although I always feel WAY-overdone when a professional does it, I know it’ll increase my chances of having a photo I actually like.

Despite all this, I still found the session tense as well as fun. Fun because I did it with my friend

Anthea Hodgson Author

(she got new shots too and we got some together for our book club and podcast) and because Dan the photographer was so awesome at making me feel better about not being able to smile properly. And yes, there’s the reason it was tense. Although I looked glam (thanks to above help) and the studio where we had the shots was fantastic, with some really awesome sets that were perfect for my vibe, I just CAN’T seem to make a smiling photo look good. I either end up shutting my eyes, grow three chins or do this weird lop-sided kinda half grin.

Needless to say it’s not pretty and I’m so grateful that Dan STILL managed to get some pics that I adore.

Here’s where you come in… would love to know what is your fave headshot below:

And now for the full-body shots of which sometimes magazines and newspapers like. Please vote on your fave below:

And now for some fun: check out some iconic author photos here:

And for other authors looking to get new photos, here’s a great article about what makes a great one.

What Makes A Great Author Photo?

Would love for anyone who can to join me at the launch event of my next book at the gorgeous Chapel Farm, Swan Valley, WA. You can click the image above to go to the booking site. Events for other states announcing soon :)